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Monday, January 25, 2010

The Adventure by Jayant Narlikar

The Adventure-Simplified for you
By
Santhosh Kumar Kana, KV, Donimalai.

Unconventional narrative style- mixture of history and science.

Professor Gaitonde, a historian, is going to give a lecture on the implications of Catastrophe Theory in the Third Battle of Panipat. On the way his car collides with a truck and he goes into coma. But he experiences another world where history is different from how we know in the real world- in the Third Battle of Panipat, in reality, Afghans defeated Marathas killing their leader Viswas Rao. But in the parallel world, Marathas win the war as Viswas Rao escapes narrowly from the bullet. The victory of Marathas brings about diverse changes and reforms in the country. He gains consciousness and his friend Rajendra Deshpande rationalizes his strange experience on the basis of two scientific therories, viz. Catastrophe Theory and the lack of determinism in Quantum Theory.

The Parallel world

Professor Gaitonde is on his way to Bombay from Pune. It is the pre-independent Bombay where he finds Anglo-indians and Union Jack. He goes to a library and reads four volumes of history starting from the period of Asoka upto the Third Battle of Panipat. The fifth volume of the Book (Bhausahebanchi Bakhar) tells a different story where Marathas win the war against Afghans in the Third Battle of Panipat. After their victory India moved towards democracy. Absent mindedly, he tucks into his pocket a copy of the book. He reaches Azad Maidan where a lecture is going on. The absence of the chairman for the meeting makes it strange but the crowd doesn’t want one though the Professor protests. He gets on to the stage, snatches the mike and starts speaking. The crowd showers eggs and tomatoes on him and finally throws him out. He is lost in the crowd.

This is where the Professor’s strange experience ends. Next we find him talking to his friend Rajendra in the real world.

Rajendra’s explanation

Rajendra explains the bizarre experience of the Professor on the basis of two scientific theories, viz. Catastrophe Theory and the lack of determinism in Quantum theory.

Catastrophe theory states that a small change in circumstance can bring sudden shift in behaviour. If we apply this theory to the battle of Panipat, we can find that there was a crucial moment when the Marathas lost both their leaders-Viswas Rao and Bhausaheb. So, the Marathas lost their morale and lost the battle. But in the parallel world Prof. Gaitonde saw the bullet missing Viswas Rao and Marathas winning the battle. A crucial event gone other way can change the course of history(the bullet missing/hitting the leader). The Professor produces a torn page of Bhausahebanchi bakhar from his pocket. This is nothing but the notes he had prepared for his lecture where he had imagined the fate of the battle to be otherwise. The bullet hitting Viswas rao was the catastrophic incident in the battle. The present state of affairs has been reached because of such catastrophic incidents in history. We can apply this theory to any other battle or historical incident and see how history takes a different course.

Lack of determinism in Quantum theory

The behaviour of electrons orbiting the nucleus in an atom cannot be predicted. There are different states of energy-higher and lower. It can make a jump from high to low energy level and send out a pulse of radiation or a pulse of radiation can knock it out of state no.2 to state no.1. These states can apply to the world too. The transitions are common in microscopic systems. If it happened on a macroscopic level, it could be an interesting food for thought.

Professor Gaitonde made a transition from the world we live in to a parallel world. One world has the history we know, the other a different history. He neither traveled to the past nor to the future. He was in the present but experiencing a different world. At the time of the collision with the truck, he was thinking about the catastrophe theory and its implications in war. He was probably wondering about the battle of Panipat. Perhaps the neurons in his brain acted as a trigger.

Like the electron jumping from one state to another, he made a jump from this world to the parallel world. Any catastrophic situation will provide various alternatives for us to proceed. But only one can be accepted by us at one time as we live in a unique world with a unique history. But why did he make such a transition? An interaction is must for any such transition. The collision and the thoughts at that moment brought it about.

The incident at Azad maidan is just to show how meetings can be arranged without chairman unlike in the real world.

The question put forward by one of the persons who commented is unanswered. I have a similar question. The text as well as your summary says that Professor Gaitonde had kept the copy of that page from the book in his pocket which states that the bullet had missed Vishwas Rao and the Marathas won the war. However, in the real word, this page is nothing but the notes he had prepared. So what does this exactly mean ?

Another point to be noted is that he had made a transition from the real world to the parallel world on a/c of a collition. Simialrly, he made a transition from the parallel world to the real world when tomatoes and objects were being thrown at him.

I would however not disagree that the chapter has been well explained. The two theories have been explained well.

Thank you sir.Everything is so clear and crisp. In fact I had read this even before you mentioned about it in the class because I could not make head or tail out of the story.Somatmika has become "one stop shop" for all our queries.As you have already written, it really is a unique repository.

your explanation gives us a good way of understanding on the topic . though the topic is confusing us by reading your explanation on the net gives a better idea and satisfaction on the topic. so, THANK YOU.

i feel that you have gone wrong somewhere in your explanation.....the fifth volume he starts reading is his own book from his world of reality, but the Bhausahebanchi bakhar is another book altogether which ,he mentions,he does not trust too much...he says that his book did NOT give a blow by blow account of the battle....but the implications of the battle are elaborated....

also.....the force of the truck could have transfered energy into him so as to knock him into state no.1 from state no.2......and it was the impact of the crowd which pushed him back into state no.2....where state no.1 is the alternate world of reality and state no.2 is his world of reality......i hope you try and analyze the text once more and think again.....and get back to me....thank you....

Thank you sir,Your xplanation was too good as anyone reading it can understand it quickly.But sir,in the text its given that Gaitonde produced Rajendra with a torn page of the book which he read in the parallel world but in your summary its given that it was the note created by him. I hope u will see through the above details and do the needful.Continue Writing........

I feel that Gangadharpant had not reached pre independent India, because India of the parallel world had never been under British rule.Firther , if the Bakhar he produced is his own notes, there was no need to bring in all scientific theories...It is then pure fantasy.

sir your most thans to publish your this story to internet i am a student of Jawahar Navodaya Vidhyalaya joura manpur morena(M.P)i am from local area nearing Gwalior i am belongs to the middle family and i want to sucesses in my life my english teacher was very talented MR.D.Sonkar he have very good talent also in ankering really i am very lucky that i m study from him

prof.Gaitonde had slipped the Bhakar in his pocket as he left the library. He lost the book but only a torn page remained with him. luckily for him, the page contained vital evidence. Rajendra read the page. It described how Viswasrao narrowly missed the bullet and the Marathas won the battle.Then Gangadhar produced his own copy of Bhausaheb banchi bakhar. It read how Viswasrao was hit by the bullet. There were two different accounts of the same battle. In one account Viswas rao was hit by a bullet and killed. In the other he escaped the bullet and survived and Marathas won...ok but how the torn paper is with Gangadhar if he lived two different worlds.

I always found this story amazing. I used to imagine in my school days why doesn't the movement of electrons to different energy levels change the properties of the atom. I don't know why they have removed this lesson from the syllabus now...